Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - White Tears / Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color

Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

White Tears / Brown Scars: How White Feminism Betrays Women of Color by Ruby Hamad

37 reviews

alyssa_s10's review

informative fast-paced

5.0

This book was a very informative read. The authors do a great job in exposing the ways in which white feminism has historically excluded and silenced women of color. This book made me take a real note of the privilege I have as a white woman. Highly recommend!

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triple_m's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

5.0

Required reading for any white women who considers herself a feminist. This was a really great and informative analysis on how white women are able to switch to weaponize their whiteness when its beneficial to them.

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unsuccessfulbookclub's review

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challenging informative fast-paced

4.25

In White Tears/Brown Scars, Ruby Hamad investigates and elaborates on how white feminism has hurt and continues to hurt BIPOC the world over. Ahmad’s particularly compelling argument is that white women have simultaneously played both damsels in distress and arbiters of power since European colonialism began. A microcosm of this behavior is regularly captured in videos of white women who start confrontations with BIPOC as aggressors (calling the cops on people having a barbecue, for instance) and end the video in tears, claiming they are being threatened. The key takeaway for me here is that *this is not new behavior* and white women, historically, have clung to power first (through whiteness) and called on the “sisterhood” of feminism only when it benefitted their proximity to power. I have personally witnessed behavior like this many times and as a young person, was absolutely socialized to use my tears as a weapon. It’s something I continue to work hard to unlearn.

I enjoyed Hamad’s more global perspective. Most of the books I have read on racial and social justice have been centered on US problems and examples, so Ruby’s Australian voice was welcome. My biggest critique of this book is Hamad’s multiple references to Robin D’Angelo, who has shown herself to be pretty problematic, but on balance they’re not a deal breaker for recommending the rest of the book.

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readwithsaray's review

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challenging reflective medium-paced

5.0

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tharumi's review

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emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

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cadence99's review against another edition

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informative medium-paced

4.75

A great, informative, accessible read on the impact of white feminism on non-white women, and the ways in which white women help to uphold white supremacy

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savvylit's review

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challenging informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

This book thoroughly highlights and unveils several delusions that are common in the greater (white) culture of the Western world. Primary among them is the idea that white women have been unaware or innocent during some of history's worst atrocities. For instance, Hamad draws on examples from colonial America & Australia to show that white women were not only complicit in genocidal behavior but also strong proponents of it.

That's not to say that White Tears/Brown Scars is purely about betrayals of the past - it most certainly is not. Hamad discusses the past only to bolster the truth at the heart of this book: that even in modern life, a myth of white female innocence is just as common and damaging as ever. Using examples from real individuals, her own experience, and the media, Hamad outlines the ways that white women willfully use their tears and presumed "innocence" to dismiss and damage women of color. Time after time, white women have shown that if they're even mildly criticized for racist behavior, they will become belligerently sad and defensive. By taking a concern and transforming it into a personal attack, the focus of the argument then becomes centered solely on the white woman's feelings. If there's any sort of audience, other folks do their best to assuage the sad white woman. Thus, the initial concerns and distress of the person of color become completely forgotten. This is a collective delusion that gaslights women of color.

When white womanhood and its insidious associations of presumed innocence are continually prioritized and promoted, the "feminist" movement has failed. Hamad proves that equality among women is only achievable once white women are willing to acknowledge their complicity in upholding whiteness. Throughout history, whiteness has been a self-perpetuating power structure built on outright lies. We need to recognize the delusions that we continue to uphold & promote and stop centering white feelings in discussions of race.

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jailynxpaige's review

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emotional informative slow-paced

3.75

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zombiezami's review against another edition

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challenging dark informative tense medium-paced

4.5

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katebrownreads's review against another edition

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5.0

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